TAMU Hailey MGMT 311 Exam 1

Law

enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society

Sources of Law

1. Constitutions

2. Statutes (Acts)

3. Administrative Rules/Regulations

4. Common Law (case law & judge-made law)

Constitutions

establishes organization, power, and limits of governments

US Constitution

-supreme law of the land

-creates national government

-10th Amendment reserves all powers not granted to federal government to states

State Constitutions

-create state governments

-highest form of law within borders of that state

-subject to US Constitution

Statutory Law

1. Created by Congress and state legislatures

a. Federal statutes- made by federal legislatures (applies to everyone in the US)

b. State statutes - made by state legislatures (applies to only those living in the state)

2. Found in federal and state code of laws

3. Cannot violate law (state or federal) (*Always and never is a rare word in the law*)

4. Municipal/County Government

a. Enact ordinances, which govern matters not covered by state or federal law

b. Ordinances cannot violate US or state constitutions

5. Uniform laws

a. State legislatures may reject or adopt uniform laws

b. If adopted, the law becomes part of state statutory law

c. UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) - most accepted uniform law

Administrative Law

1. Can have local, state, or federal agencies (ex. EPA and FDA)

2. Agency functions:

a. Rule making power

b. Power to investigate and enforce their rules

c. Power to judge violations of their rules with one of their own administrative law judges

3. Federal Agencies

a. Executive agencies

b. Independent regulatory agencies

Common Law

source of law, but also a tradition in which our entire judicial system is based

Legal Remedies

means money

Compensatory Damages

designed to make a plaintiff whole again (the remedy for most cases)

Special Damages

-these are quantifiable

a) Loss of time: ex. earnings at work

b) Loss of money: ex. medical bills

c) Property damages: ex. cars

General Damages

-not quantifiable, but subjective

a) Pain and suffering

b) Injury to reputation: ex. if someone had lies told about them

c) mental anguish: emotional pain and suffering

d) disfigurement: ex. burns/scars

e) loss of earning capacity: ex. if you aren't able to work the rest of your life

Punitive/Exemplary Damages

1. purpose is to punish wrongdoer

2. given in addition to compensatory (they are added on top, but not all cases get them)

Nominal Damages

sometimes people only ask for these (ex. sexual harassment case)

Courts at Equity/Remedies at Equity

also called the Chancellor's court

Types of Equitable Remedies

-specific performance

-injunction

-rescission

Specific Performance

-court order a breaching party to a contract to perform the contract as promised

-the subject must be unique (ex. land, van Gogh painting, other rare items)

Injunction

-court ordering a party to perform an action or to stop performing (ex. child abuse)

1. Temporary - prior to actual litigation

2. Permanent - after litigation (more broad order than a specific performance)

Rescission

-an action to undue the contract

-we don't need a court for this

Equitable Maxims

-guides for judges when they are creating new remedies

-Statutes of Limitations

-when we are sued, we have the right to bring defenses

The Doctrine of Stare Decisis

-"to stand on decided cases"

-use of "precedent" - similar past cases

-the court relies on precedent to remedy cases

-judges are obligated to follow precedents established by the higher courts in their jurisdiction because of this doctrine

Functions of Stare Decisis Doctrine

1. Court Efficiency

2. Creates a more just and uniform system

3. Makes the law stable and predictable

4. Allows us to use lessons learned in the past

Binding Precedent

controlling, courts have to follow it

Persuasive Precedent

courts don't have to follow it

Departures from Precedent

a) the prior was incorrect (judges make mistakes)

b) the precedent has become outdated (ex. new technology can change rules)

Brown v. Board Education

-this case overruled Plessy v. Ferguson (separate, but equal)

-ruled separate schools were unconstitutional and started desegregation

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health

-overruled Roe v. Wade

-returned the right of abortion to the states

Cases of First Impression

1. There is no legal precedent on which to base a decision

2. Factors used when court is faced with this or when conflicting precedents exist:

a) Persuasive precedent

b) legal principles and policies underlying previous court decisions and current statute

c) fairness

d) social values and customs

e) public policy

f) social science data

IRAC

-Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion

-the basic steps of the legal reasoning process

Issue: What are the key facts and issues?

Rule: What rules of law apply?

Application: How do the rules of law apply to the particular facts of this case?

Conclusion: What conclusion should be drawn?

Classifications of Law

-numerous ways to classify laws

-classifications are not mutually exclusive; they overlap

Substantive vs. Procedural

Substantive: define and describes your rights

Procedural: methods of enforcing your rights (ex. reading Miranda rights)

Public vs. Private

Public: cases that the government has a party in (ex. speeding ticket)

Private: when the government is not in the case (between people or businesses)

Civil Law

-involve rights and duties that exist between people or citizens and their government in non-criminal matters

1) Main purpose: compensation

2) Burden of proof: must have proof "by a Preponderance of the evidence"

Criminal Law

-wrongs committed against the public as a whole

1) Purpose: punishment (ex. jail time, fines, community service)

2) Burden of proof: must have proof "beyond a reasonable doubt"

-you have the state/federal government and a defendant

-you must have a unanimous decision by the jury

Cyberlaw

an informal term used to refer to all laws governing electronic communications and transactions, particularly those conducted via the Internet

Plaintiff

person who filed the suit and is listed first

Defendant

person being sued and is listed second

Appellant

party appealing (one who brings the case)

Appellee

party who won at trial and defends against the appeal

Petitioner

party appealing to the high court

Respondent

won at court of appeals level and defends against petition to Supreme Court

Unanimous

all members of the appellate or high court agree; very strong precedent

Majority

a majority of the justices hearing the case agree and join in the reasoning of the decision

Concurring Opinion

justice(s) on the court files a separate opinion because he agrees with the result of the decision but not the reasoning behind it

Dissenting Opinion

A court opinion that presents the views of one or more judges or justices who disagree with the majority's decision

Federal Form of Government

1. Power is divided between national government and state governments

2. Partnerships between national and state governments

Sovereignty

power to govern themselves stems from the 10th amendment

Police Powers

right of state governments to regulate private activities to protect or promote the public order, health, safety, morals, and the general welfare

Privileges and Immunities Clause

-if citizens of one state engage in basic and essential activities in another state, they must be treated same as citizens of the foreign state unless the foreign state has a substantial reason for treating nonresidents differently from its own residents and the reason for the discrimination is substantially related to the foreign state's purpose in adopting the legislation

-ex: a Texas fisherman goes to Louisiana to fish, but has to spend $2500 on a fishing license while residents pay $25 which violates the clause because it is an essential activity

-Out of state tuition doesn't violate this because a college degree is not essential

Full Faith and Credit Clause

-ensures that rights established under deeds, wills, contracts, and the like in one state will be honored by the other states and that any judicial decision with respect to such property rights will be honored and enforced in all states

-applies only to civil matters

Separation of Powers

Legislative- makes laws

Executive- enforces the laws

Judicial- interprets the laws

Commerce Clause

gives the federal government the power to regulate the movement of goods and services

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Federal government can regulate intrastate (within the borders of the state) if the commerce concern more than one state

Wickard v. Filburn (1942)

Farmer's crop production to be used wholly for consumption on his farm was subject to federal regulation because it affected interstate commerce (because he was not buying from anyone else)

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964)

-the owners of the motel argued that the Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional

-they then argued that since they were small, they didn't affect commerce

-the courts told the motel they had to stop their discrimination, no matter how small you are

US v. Morrison (2000)

Congress exceeded its authority in passing federal Violence against Women Act, because it attempted to regulate an area that had nothing to do with commerce or any sort of enterprise

Medical Marijuana and the Commerce Clause

Supreme Court allows the federal government to regulate noncommercial activities taking place wholly within a state's borders

Gonzales v. Raich (2005)

-2 women were arrested for growing marijuana even though their doctor gave them a prescription to do so and the state's law allowed it

-since the federal law didn't allow it, they were arrested

Dormant Commerce Clause

-states do not have the authority to regulate interstate commerce

-courts must balance state's interests in the purpose of the regulation against the burden placed on interstate commerce

Raymond Motor Transp., Inc. v. Rice

-Wisconsin created a law that regulated the length of semi trucks in order to protect their roads and people (traffic/accidents)

-Raymond won the case because it was too burdensome for truck companies and the law was recognized as unconstitutional

Supremacy Clause

-Under this clause, state and local laws that directly conflict with federal law will be rendered invalid

-US Constitution, laws, and treaties are "supreme law of the land"

Preemption

when Federal Congress chooses to act exclusively in an area of the law that could be viewed as a concurrent area (ex. Federal Aviation Law & cigarette labeling)

Concurrent Area

means it could be controlled by either state or federal law

Taxing Power

1. Congress has power to tax, but must be uniform throughout the US

2. Courts allow tax if it is a valid revenue-raising measure

Spending Power

1. Congress pays debts and provides for defense and general welfare of US

2. Rarely challenged - problem with standing - plaintiff must show a direct and immediate personal injury to challenge federal spending power

3. Congress can spend revenues to promote any objective it deems worthwhile

Bill of Rights

1. Originally only applied to the federal government

2. Most, but not all, have been incorporated to states through 14th Amendments

3. US Supreme Court is final interpreter of the Constitution

Freedom of Speech - 1st Amendment

guarantees the freedom of speech, religion, and the press

Symbolic Speech (non-verbal expressions)

-gestures, movements, articles of clothing, and other forms of expressive conduct

-ex. the black arm band for the Vietnam War

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

-Johnson burned the American flag and was arrested for it because Texas had a Flag Protection Act

-Johnson argued that he was using his freedom of speech and won the case

-the Texas law was declared unconstitutional

Reasonable Restrictions

-expression, oral, written or symbolized by conduct, is subject to reasonable restrictions

-laws that restrict content of speech must serve a compelling state interest and be narrowly written to achieve that interest

-"Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case

Corporate Political Speech

Political speech by corporations also falls within the protection of the First Amendment. Many years ago, the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a Massachusetts statute that prohibited corporations from making political contributions or expenditures that individuals were permitted to make.

Commercial Speech

advertising products, sometimes labeling

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Bad Frog Brewery, Inc v. New York State Liquor Authority

-the NYSLA banned Bad Frog's logo because they thought it was obscene

-the interest they had went tooo far and went further than necessary

-they tried to outlaw the logo completely when they could have allowed it in liquor stores where kids don't go

-the NYSLA lost

Unprotected Speech

the government doesn't give you the right to do these things

Establishment Clause

prohibiting the government from establishing religion

Free Exercise Clause

-protects us and our free exercise of our faith

a. f law is contrary to a person's religious beliefs, exemptions are often made to accommodate those beliefs (ex. Jehovah's witness are not required to salute the flag in the 1940s)

b. if religious beliefs work against public policy and welfare, the government can act (ex. when a child needs blood to save their life, but their religion doesn't allow it, they still have to give them blood)